Nesting tray construction



March 24, 1959 R. B. NAWMAN NESTING TRAY CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 17, 1958 INVENTOR. ROLL/E B. NAWMAN FLEHR & SWAIN sea i AT TORNE VS March 24, 1959 Filed March 1'7, 1958 R. B. NAWMAN NESTING TRAY CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F/GL 7 INVENTOR. ROLL/E B. NAWMAN F LEHR 8, SWAIN ATTORNEYS R 2,878,959 Patented Mar. 24, 1959 2,s7s,59 C p 5 NESTING TRAY CONSTRUCTION 5 Rollie B. Nawman, Oakland, Calif., assignor to Bennerw Nawman, Inc., Oakland, Calif., a corporation of Cali-i fornia Application March 17, 1958, Serial No. 721,957

8 Claims. (Cl. 220-97) This invention relates generally to trays and boxes,

and particularly to a nesting tray construction for use 51 in the transporting and storage of crushable itemsyof. merchandise. 1 It is frequently desirable, for example'in the handling of bakery items such as bread, cake, doughnuts, cookies and the like, toprovide' a protective basket or tray-to t prevent crushing or mashing'of the merchandise. Such' a tray is generally used to protect the merchandise during periods of shipment of storage prior to marketing. Once the-merchandise has been delivered to market, however, 25 thetrays ceasefto perform a useful function, and their. bulk and size present a considerable problem until such time as the trays are returned to the original shipping point. In an eflfort to save valuable warehousing and shipping space, the prior art has provided many different types of collapsible or nesting tray constructions. To date, however, no one of these prior devices has proved completely satisfactory in use; the trays either do not nest properly, or" the collapsing mechanism functions improperly or is too 35 expensive of manufacture. A solution to this problemin the art is therefore highly to be desired. In general, it is an object of the present" invention to improve upon the construction of nesting" trays, particularly with respect to means permitting a ready nesting of' 40 trays having substantially the same rectangular configuration and dimensions." t It is another object of the invention to provide anesting tray which will act positively to protect merchandise contained within its framework, in a stacked position of the trays. I It is a further object of the invention to provide'a nesting tray construction that is rugged, durable, easily manufactured and'which employs 'nom'oving parts.

'Additional objects and advantages of the invention will ings in which: a

, Figure 1 is a view in perspective ofva pair 'of traysembodying the invention, the trays being shown in nested position; v U j p H I Figure 2 isalikeview showing the trays 'ina stacked or carrying position;

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation, illustrating the manner of nesting the trays; V 9.

Figure 4 is a view in vertical section along the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a view in vertical section along the line 5-5 of Figure 1; and

Figures 6 and 7 are detail views illustrating modifications of the invention. 55

Generally stated, a nesting tray of the present invention comprises a pair of rectangular subframes joined at their corners by posts to form an open main frame of substantially rectangular configuration. Each of the posts is provided intermediate its ends with a horizontal or inwardly directed offset portion, and with an outwardly directed notch or indentation extending in a vertical appear from the following description and from the draw-' United States Patent Qfifice position (Figures 3 and 5).

plane below the offset. The lower subframe is provided with a protruding lip means so that engagement with the upper subframe of an adjacent tray will result in a stacked or carryingposition of the trays. When it is desired to nestthe trays, the notches in one set of posts permit a 5 pivotal manipulation, as in Figure 3, to provide a nested position in which the offset portions of one tray are supported upon the upper subframe of the other.

Referring to the drawings in detail, A and B represent a-pair of nesting tray constructions which may be stacked in a carrying position, as illustrated in Figure 2, or in a nested position, as illustrated in Figure 1. Each of the tray constructions comprises an upper subframe 10 and a lower subframe 12. The upper subframe is substantially"rectang'ular and is preferably bent from a single piece of sheet material or tubing to provide the side rails 14 and end rails 16. Ifdesired, the upper edge of the framecan be rolled or curled about a reinforcing wire or. rod 17 (Figure 4). The lower subframe can be similarly fabricated to provide a rectangular frame having the side rails 18 and end rails 20. Preferably the side rails'18 of the lower subframe are spaced a lesser distance apart than the side rails 14 of the upper subframe, such construction serving to facilitate the nesting function, as will appear. As best seen in Figure 2, the end rails 20 of the lower subframe are provided with protruding lip means 22 adapted to engage the upper subframe of a lower adjacent tray whenthe trays are stacked in a carrying position. The nesting potential of. the tray constructions ofthe invention is due primarily to the novel construction of the corner posts 30. As illustrated, each of the posts includes two substantially vertical segments 32 and 34 and an intermediate offset portion 36, the degree of offset preferably corresponding to the narrower width of the lower subframe. As detailed in Figures 4 and 5, the lowermost post segment 34 is provided with an outwardly directed opening or notch 38. The function of the notch 38 is to telescopingly receive the end rail 16 of the lower adjacent tray duringassembly of the trays in a nested It willbe understood that the vertical spacing of thesegments 32 and 34 can be such that, in a nested position, the offset 36 of an upper tray will be supportinglyengaged by the upper rail 14 of a lower tray; in like fashion, its lower rail 18 can be supportingly engaged by the offset of the lower tray.

' Figure 4 particularly illustrates a stacked carrying position of a pair of trays, with the lips 22 of tray A being engaged and supported by the end rails 16 of the lower tray'B. In the preferred embodiment of Figures 1 to 5, the lips'22 and the end rails 20 are formed as integral units from a single piece of sheet material. Thus the end rail- 20 can include a lower U-shaped bend 21 forming an end wall of the lower frame, a curved portiondoubling back upon itself" to form the lip 22, and an upstanding portion also-doubling back on itself to'form a retainingflange 23. It has been found thatthis construction not only facilitates "a sliding contact of the lip' 22 with'the rail 16 of the lower tray, but also imparts added strength to the entire unit. The construction is also useful in that the flange 23 cooperates with the inner surface of the guide rail 18 to provide a rigid retaining rim for the disposable cardboard cartons normally positioned in the lower half of a tray.

In the use of the devices just described, the disposable cartons filled with merchandise are positioned in the bottom of the trays taking care that the merchandise does not protrude above the upper rails 14. The merchandisefilled trays can now be stacked for shipment or storage as illustrated in Figure 2. In the stacked position, the merchandise within the trays is protected from being crushed or damaged during all normal handling by the rigid framework of the carrying trays. "By way of illustration, a stackofloaded trays can be easily liftedand moved about by means of a fork lift truck, or in fact, by any suitable handling device. When the merchandise reaches its ultimate destination, and is unloaded from the trays, the trays may be advantageouslynested inrthe position illustrated in. Figure 1. Nesting is easily accomplished by grasping a tray by its upper side rails 14, and telescopingthe end rails 16 of the lower tray within the recesses 38 of a pair of corner posts (Figures 3 and 5). The upper tray can then be pivoted about the endrail 16 with the lip 22 of the opposite end just passing inside the opposite endrail 16 of the lower tray. Thereafter, the tray can be repositioned, as shown in Figures Land 5, so that the offsets 36 and 'siderails'vsupportably engage one another. It will be understood that a'stack of nested trays, as in Figure 1, will occupy approximately half thespace of, a stackof trays in thecarrying position of Figure 2. This is a factor of considerable economic importance, since the shipping orstorage-space savedby the nesting ;can be employed for additional merchandise, making possiblea maximum use of available space.

Although the:above description has relatedto a particular embodiment of the invention, as illustrated-in Figures 1 to 5, many different embodiments and widely divergent applications of the invention will suggest themselves to those in this art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, Figure 6 illustrates a simplified construction of the end-rail 20 in which the lip 22a is formed from a single thickness of material; Figure 7 illustrates a-furthermodification by which ,a separate lip 22a might be spot welded to an, existing end rail construction 20b. As. another illustra-. tion, varying shapes of the notches 38 can: alsoberreadily employed without appreciably varying the principles of the invention. .According1y,,it shouldbe understood. that the :disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative ,-,and; are not, intended. to be in .any ;sense.;limitmg.

I claim:

1. In a nesting tray construction, a pair of rectangular sub-frames, posts joining corresponding corners of said sub-frames to form an open main frame, each of said posts including an offset portion intermediate its ends. and a notch formed adjacent said offset and extending in a plane-perpendicular to said ofiset portion, the lower of said pair of sub-frames being provided with protrudingv lip means adapted to engage the upper sub-frame of any of-said sub-frames being-somewhat narrower than the:

upper subframe.

3. The deviceofclairn 1 wherein;said-lower'subframe and said protruding lipmeans are integral and are formed' froma single piece of; sheet material.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said protruding lipmeans includes a lower U-shaped bend'forming'anuend wall of the lowerrframe a curved portion doubledback upon itself to form the protruding lip, and-an upstanding portion-alsodoubled back on itself to'forrna. retaining flange, such construction imparting added strength to said, lip means and end wall.

5. In a nesting rtay construction, an upper rectangular sub-frame, a lower rectangular sub-frame of substantially the same length as said upper sub-frame but of narrower width, posts joining corresponding corners of said subframes to form an open main frame, each of said posts including two substantially vertical segments and an intermediate offset portion joining said vertical segments, the lowermost of said vertical post portions being provided with an outwardly facing notch adjacent said offset and in a plane perpendicular thereto, said olfset portions being in substantially the same plane and adapted to supportablyreceive the lower sub-frame of an upper nested tray, said lower sub-frame being provided with transverse protruding lip means adjacent its ends, said lip means adapting the tray to be supported on an upper sub-frame of a lower adjacent tray, whereby said trays 1 may be .stacked in aspaced position with one tray being supported on, another by its lip means and may be;subsequently nestedwith onetray being supported by another by the offset portions of its posts.

6. vIn :a nesting, tray construction, an upper rectangular sub-frame, 'a lower rectangular sub-frame, each of said sub-frames having side rails and end rails, the side-rails of said.lower.sub-frarne being spaced a lesser distance apart than the'side rails of said upper sub-frame, posts joining corresponding corners of said subframes toform an open main frame having substantially rectangular sides, each of said posts having vertical side. rail supporting. segments and an inwardly directed offset portion,.the ofiset portions of said posts being in substantially the same plane and parallel to the planes of said sub-frames, saidlower .sub framebeing provided with protruding lip means being adapted to engage the upper sub-frame of a lower zadjacenttray construction in an unnested stacking position, eachrof saidposts being provided with out- Wardlyfacing notch means permitting nesting of adjacenttrays so that the offset-portions of an upper tray construction are, supported by the upper sub-frame of a, lower tray construction in a nested stacking position.

7. Ina nesting tray construction, a pair of rectangular sub-frames, means joining corresponding corners of said frames to form an open main frame having substantially rectangular sides, each of said means including an inwardly directed supporting surface and an outwardly directedyindentation, said supporting surface and indentation being in planes that are perpendicular to one another,1the lower of said pair of sub-frames being provided with support means adapted to engage the upper sub-frame of an adjacent tray construction when in an unnested, stacking position, said inwardly directed supportingsurface being adapted to support on the sub-frame ofanaadjacent tray construction in-a nested stacking posi- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Ullrich Jan. 8, 1952 ,Schmitz May 27, 1952 

